News & Stories

Munich. Algorithms in personnel management are no guarantee for the company as regards finding the best talent. The artificial intelligence at the root of the technology is too quick to standardise and discriminate people with potential. What algorithms in personnel management really can do and what their limitations are is explained today by Katharina Zweig speaking to our correspondent Baerbel Schwertfeger on the fringes of the financial paper's "Handelsblatt" Conference on Artificial Intelligence in Munich. Zweig spearheads the Information Technology department at the Technical University of Kaiserslautern, its Algorithm Accountability Lab and the course of study Socio-Information Technology.

Munich. Artificial Intelligence makes it possible: More and more airlines and airports are beginning to use biometric facial recognition to speed up checking processes and improve security controls – as of recently, Lufthansa has also come on board. And hotels want to individualise the guest experience with the technology. In China, the first hotel has introduced facial recognition. Critics warn of errors, abuse of data and infringement of privacy. Tests show just how vulnerable the system still is.

Vienna. At present, more Eastern Europeans fill the staff rooms in Austrian hotels than their guest rooms. Austria is now feeling the lack of qualified staff quite sharply. The figures are sobering.

Munich. Staff recruiting works differently today: Scouts look for talents at events, they filter photos via Google Image, large businesses use chatbots for telephone interviews, and career websites have to load within three seconds. The "TalentPro" Munich, the first "Expo Festival for recruitment, talent management and employer branding solutions" attracted masses and the people were able to take home numerous ideas. HSMA Deutschland organised its own afternoon programme there but did not provide any insight.

Neuss. The profession of hotel director has changed. Beginning with qualifications, all the way to management style: Anyone today looking to be successful as manager in this industry must also "know real estate". Qualified chefs or waiters are no longer taken seriously, at least not by investors. Today, the expectation is of an operational Wunderkind. Nevertheless: An HR Manager appeals to the sector not to do itself down – not in terms of payment either. Where exactly this journey will end was the focus of the spring conference of the Hotel Director Association Germany in Neuss.

Berlin. A calendar as success story – and example for a better image of the hospitality industry as employer: This has been accomplished by the Park Inn by Radisson on Alexanderplatz in Berlin. This special calendar 2018 shows the work-life balance of a hotel trainee: Young, balanced and happy employees beam in private settings and at work in front of the camera.

Wiesbaden. In the hotel industry, qualified staff are a rare commodity, and the sector must take new approaches to winning over young employees. One of these approaches is further training. 25hours Hotels, an expanding hotel group with ten hotels and around 700 employees at present, is considered especially innovative, different and courageous. Baerbel Schwertfeger spoke at length with Michael End, the Chief Operating Officer of 25hours Hotels on the subject of staff recruitment and satisfaction. New methods on the subject of further training and motivation are currently also being introduced by Lindner Hotels and Scandic. Lindner places its bets here on an interactive quiz app, which allows the team to learn in a playful way, whilst and Scandic continues to expand its social training platform.

Wiesbaden. Today, job hunting takes place mainly mobile. This also applies to qualified employees with vocational training. More than three quarters use their smartphones for the job search, in hospitality and tourism, it is even 81 percent. But the businesses have not adjusted to this yet. This was revealed in a new study of a job market. Recruiting expert Wolfgang Jaeger, professor at RheinMain University of Applied Sciences in Wiesbaden, Germany even goes further than this study and demands from the hotel industry and gastronomy that the following: job applications have to become more mobile, easier and more comfortable. For a first assessment of a candidate, not all documents are necessary. In addition, the industry has to communicate over fast channels, such as Xing or WhatsApp. The industry has to rethink!

Vienna. This week, prior to the elections, the employment bonus was decided on in Austria. It will enter into force on July 1, 2017. Originally only discounted as purely "manufacture support", the tourism industry now profits as well. For certain employees, the state will pay half of the non-wage labour costs.

Munich. The shortage of staff members is becoming increasingly crucial; at the same time, a growing number of employees are deciding on the success or failure of a hotel group. AccorHotels, which is currently in an expansion frenzy, is therefore making its training more flexible in Germany. A first test will start soon.